I should be sleeping, really. It's almost 1 am. Talk about a wedding night

My SO and I can't even sleep in the same bed. We've been at his parents' since yesterday afternoon, and the bed in his old room is way too narrow for two people. We've tried a couple times in the past but he just can't sleep (I tend to take the good spot against the wall, and he's left to trying not to fall off), so we decided that I'd sleep here, and he'd sleep in his older brother's room. It's very comfy, I must say. But I miss him. And we got hitched, so it doesn't feel right to be apart. But we'll go back home eventually. And then we're going to Germany next week so we'll spend sometime in a hotel room

So here's what happened. We drove to Vahto (small town where his parents live, 15km away from Turku) yesterday around noon, and it was a bit of a hassle to pack everything because I kept adding stuff I thought I might need (too many clothes and shoes for a four-day stay, make-up, hair straightener, all kinds of stuff). But we had a car so at least we didn't carry all that through train stations. When we arrived we ran into the two little girls his mother takes care of (she runs a day-care at her house), who are so damn cute, and their mother was there too, a lovely woman who stops by for a chat whenever I'm here. There was also a one year-old baby (new addition) whom I spent an hour taking care of (feeding and changing and playing with) and who was so quiet it was scary. A proper, stoic Finnish baby. When his father came to pick him up I started wondering if I shouldn't be so hands-on with a stranger's baby, you know. I hope I didn't freak him out.

Not much happened after that. My SO and I went to the sauna, which even though I don't "get" the way Finns do, I still enjoy going to at least once when I'm here. We just enjoyed each other's company while joking about how it wasn't too late to call off the wedding. The usual, you know! This morning was just... normal. I didn't feel any different, though he did feel a little bit more tense than usual. Maybe it's because he found out that I can't really iron a shirt, even though I tried? Haha. I don't think it's in my genes to iron clothes, I never seem to get it right. Anyway, we got ready at around 13:00 even though our appointment was at 14:30 (I remember thinking when I went to the bathroom "this is the last time I pee as an unmarried woman!"), and set out to drive to Turku under a heavy rain. In France they say "Mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux" which more or less means "Rainy wedding, happy marriage", so I didn't complain about it. We picked up my brother-in-law Tapani on our way (we had to make sure he'd come because he had the rings ) and then went in.

A lady greeted us and let us in a big room with blue chairs, a big wooden desk with two candles on it and a big book that was... a collection of Finnish laws? Something like that. There was a Persian carpet on the floor and eventually I realized that it had the word Allah (in Arabic) painted on a corner. That was kinda funny and a bit annoying We (the couple) were called outside the room at some point to write down the names we wanted to have after the wedding was celebrated and then we had to provide two witnesses to sign that document. We wanted to have his older brother Tommi and his fiancée Jaana as our witnesses, but they were running late. Tommi always seems to be late for everything. He was late at his first wedding, ffs (by almost an hour) so my father-in-law and Tapani stepped in. We waited as long as possible and had to start with the proceedings without the latecomers.

It was fairly simple. The person who marries people (no idea what you call that in Finland) stands behind the desk and the couple stands before him, and he starts saying stuff (first in Finnish, then in English for my benefit) about what marriage is, founding a family, etc. Very short but effective. I started shaking when he talked to me because... I guess it was pretty moving that we made it so far? I didn't cry, though. Then he asked Timo if he wanted me for his wife, etc. and then asked me the sale and I barely could whisper "Yes". Right after that Tommi and Jaana barged in and I was quite happy that they didn't miss everything. We exchanged rings, he pronounced us husband and wife and we kissed. We had rehearsed that kiss in the morning and decided to make it long enough for his father to be able to take a picture, but he still missed it Oh well

Then he congratulated us, handed us the marriage certificates (yay!) and left us to celebrate a bit. We took a few pictures and then had to leave because there was another couple after us. We saw them on the way out. The girl was visibly pregnant and the guy looked like an American high-school football star from the 50's (he had that kind of jacket they wear in movies) and they were alone.

Anyway, we decided we'd go to a café and had cheesecake, which is the best way to celebrate happy occasions if you ask me. After than we all parted ways as the parents wanted to do some shopping, and we wanted to go to the supermarket to buy stuff so I could cook something tomorrow (well, today, really.) I found out that they are throwing a dinner party in our honour on Sunday. It was supposed to be a surprise but this family is terrible with keeping secrets, it seems <3 The same people will be there, in addition to his mummu (granny), aunt/godmother, her boyfriend and her daughter Niina (whom I love dearly.) And there's more! It's a party with a theme! You see, I have never experienced Finnish Christmas, and I won't either this year, so they're celebrating it early for my sake, with the traditional ham and everything! How cool is that So thoughtful and sweet, I couldn't ask for a better celebration.

There are also talks that we might have a small get-together with friends when we go back to Espoo, maybe on Tuesday (to celebrate the US elections!) by popular demand. I'm still not sure if we'll be up to it, but it would be very nice. I have met many of those friends, but there are a few who had never even heard of me until Timo announced he was getting married in a week's time haha. One of them is in a LDR with an English girl, too!

I'm sure there are a lot of things I still want to talk about but it wouldn't be reasonable to write anymore than that. Thanks for reading